The present invention relates to a method of producing 1,2,4-triazole which is a useful compound having numerous applications such as a starting material for synthesizing agricultural chemicals.
To date, various methods have been proposed for synthesizing 1,2,4-triazole. In all the conventionally known methods, hydrazine is used as the starting material as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 56-95177, and no method utilizing a ketazine, an intermediate of hydrazine production, has been reported.
The ketazine is an intermediate of industrial hydrazine production, and hydrazine is produced by hydrolysis of the ketazine. A substantial portion of energy required in the hydrazine production is consumed during the hydrolysis of the ketazine to result in increased cost of producing hydrazine. This in turn increases the production cost of 1,2,4-triazole.